Sushi Tei Early Summer Promotion

Sashimi Moriawase Asagao, originally uploaded by Camemberu.

After all the greasy stuff this week, I was craving something light and fresh. Nothing more refreshing than a spot of sashimi! And Sushi Tei was having some promo on, featuring otoro too! I caved in for a small platter of salmon, maguro (tuna) and otoro (tuna belly). The slices were large and chunky. But for S$18, the fish was not of top quality, of course. The salmon and maguro were most ordinary.

Otoro, originally uploaded by Camemberu.

I'm not an otoro expert but I still wasn't too impressed. Yes, the otoro had the requisite buttery melt-in-your-mouth texture with a sweet ocean taste. But it was still a weee bit powdery, and edges of it easily bruised, which is not great. But for S$18 for the whole platter, I wasn't expecting much (most places already charge a minimum of S$20 for two pieces of otoro sushi). The otoro sashimi a la carte goes for S$20 for five pieces.

Unagi-Tamago Sushi, originally uploaded by Camemberu.

Now this I really enjoyed. Thick, moist slabs of premium unagi paired with tamago on sushi rice (the huge topping completely overshadows the rice -you can hardly see it). Very tasty! But also very pricey at S$6 a plate! Well, still better than the anaemic and dry-looking slices of unagi on sushi on cheaper plates.

Salmon Mentai, originally uploaded by Camemberu.

I had casually thought this to be aburi shake (half-broiled salmon) with some odd seasoning on top. But the burst of flavour told me - oh this is salmon with mentaiko (cod roe eggs)! Another yummy concoction but yet again pricey. S$5! Oh well. Better one plate of good stuff than two plates of mediocre stuff.

Soft-shell crab maki, originally uploaded by Camemberu.

I love soft-shell crab, seaweed and tobiko. So this combination is irresistible to me. This was so-so, decently done but not spectacular.

I don't really like conveyor belt chains but Sushi Tei is probably one of the better ones locally. Still, if you aren't careful, a meal here can often add up to an expensive bill. You can probably easily go for a nicer set lunch at Sushi Yoshida or Tatsuya.

SUSHI TEI
Seven outlets across Singapore
(click here for details and phone numbers)